Seeking meaning in US asylum adjudications: aspirations, affect, and morality on the frontlines of the state

Abstract This article examines how US asylum officers reclaim their sense of professional worth when their expectations of cognitively and emotionally meaningful engagement with applicants collide with the reality of routinized and emotionally detached decision-making. Drawing on forty-three in-depth interviews, I show that officers actively seek out elements of applicants’ claims that elicit intellectual stimulation and emotional resonance. This investment not only reinforces their self-image a